The other day while I was sweeping (I have a compulsive sweeping disorder), my mind wandered to the amount of television I used to watch compared to now. The shows have been whittled down to 2 mainly because of the time available. But as I cataloged the names I settled on one in particular and immediately thought of one of the attractive male characters. Time wasn’t a factor where this show was concerned. The issue was that I was watching for him and raising an eyebrow when he was shirtless. When I realized what was happening and the ‘why’ behind viewing that program – I knew it had to go.
So many times we talk about men and their lustful bent. But I don’t recall ever hearing us women admonished about what we put in front of our eyes.
It isn’t wrong to appreciate the male form. There are many of us who have husbands who would LOVE it if we told them how much we appreciated their form. The trouble comes, the sin comes, when we start to admire and lust after those men who aren’t our own.
I know that this is a difficult topic. In the church environment that I grew up in “a good Christian lady” didn’t have those types of thoughts.
But we live in a culture that encourages us to turn every person we meet into a means of self-gratification and we have to stand firm.
God had called us from a life of sin to a life of true holiness. He gives us the strength to turn from our lust and live a life of righteousness.
This is a subject that has been on my heart for a long time because, I am ashamed to admit, has been a struggle since my teenage years. But I write this to encourage you. We all struggle with something. Something that rears its ugly head just when we think we’ve gotten it beat and whispers that we’ve failed again. We will fail, but because of God’s amazing grace, He sees Christ’s righteousness and not our sin.
Don’t give up sisters.
Thank you, Danielle, for being honest and open. This sin and others like it are a “much guarded secret” that needs to be dealt with if we expect to have victory in our own lives, or to see victory in our children’s lives. Praise the Lord for His grace!
Thank you, Belinda. This was difficult to write about but I felt that it needed to be said. So many times we talk about certain sins and leave the others unaddressed, pretending that we aren’t capable of struggling like ‘others’ do. I hope this can be an encouragement to those who read.